Baroness Amos: DfID is working with the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, development banks and national Governments to ensure that design and implementation of infrastructure programmes follow best practice. The department has invested substantial funds in developing guidelines in infrastructure provision, road safety, use of local materials and private sector involvement. An example is DfID's support to the Global Transport Knowledge Partnership (gTKP) between donors and developing country partners to support and promote improved access to existing knowledge on transport for developing countries. The aim is to empower decision-makers to invest in transport towards a more sustainable future and help achieve the millennium development goals. The initial focus is on roads and road transport, principally in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Further information on the gTKP can be obtained at www.gtkp.com.
	Through gTKP and our membership of other institutions such as the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) we are working with other donors and development banks to strengthen transport programmes so they can deliver affordable and sustainable improvements to road infrastructure and transport in sub-Saharan Africa.

Baroness Amos: DfID recognises the important contribution that improving standards for professional driver training and licensing in Africa can make to reducing road-related death or injury. We address this through wider support to a range of road safety and transport initiatives. This includes our support to the Global Road Safety Partnership, which, among other activities, provides support to driver training and licensing programmes. DfID has also established a Global Transport Knowledge Partnership, which will help develop sustainable and efficient transport in developing and transition countries. The partnership will disseminate good practice to transport practitioners and policymakers in these countries.
	DfID also funds a number of multilateral initiatives in this area, including the World Bank's guide to good practice in road safety and road safety modules in the World Bank's road maintenance programme.
	At the country level, DfID activity has included support for Ghana's National Commission on Road Safety and Bangladesh's Roads and Highways Department's road safety cell.

Lord Triesman: The UK welcomes the European Commission's continued commitment to the better regulation agenda in particular its rolling programme to simplify existing legislation and the withdrawal so far of around 70 pending proposals. The Government also welcome the European Council invitation to the Commission to make proposals by 2007 on how to reduce administrative burdens on business by 25 per cent.
	We estimate that around half of all UK legislation with an impact on business, charities and the voluntary sector stems from legislation agreed by Ministers in Brussels. Parliamentary analysis of UK statutory instruments implemented annually under the European Communities Act suggests that on average around 9 per cent. of all statutory instruments originate in Brussels.

Lord Warner: Management information collected in April 2006 from primary care trusts showed that 2,884 contracts and agreements had been initially signed in dispute. This represented 33 per cent. of all signed contracts. The National Health Service Litigation Authority advises that by 19 June 2006, 631, or 22 per cent, of disputed contracts had been referred to the authority. The authority had accepted 116 of these, or just over 4 per cent, for national resolution. The remainder are on hold pending the outcome of local dispute resolution procedures.
	Dentists continue to provide NHS services where a contract has been signed, whether or not it was signed in dispute. Only if the dentist eventually rejects the resolution would the service cease and the primary care trust re-commission the service from another dentist. The facility to sign contracts in dispute was specifically designed to ensure that service to patients continues uninterrupted while disputes are resolved.

Sport: Rally Ireland

Sport: Rally Ireland

Sport: Rally Ireland